Sidel has opened a new office in Wrocław, Poland, to offer an improved service to customers in the Central and Eastern Europe area. Known for its global experience, the leading provider of production equipment and services for liquids in PET, can and glass is equally committed to ensuring genuine local sales and support as part of its continued efforts to build long-term business partnerships. The company's Poland-based teams moved to the new office in December 2016 and this relocation is already proving a success with existing and potential customers within the area.

Sidel understands the importance of working in close proximity with customers in the regions in which it operates and in having dedicated offices where the company's local representatives are permanently located and can readily be contacted. This is part of Sidel's commitment to better understanding its customers' products and the markets and value chains in which they operate. It provides the opportunity for more tailored solutions, combining technology, services and expertise to help producers to meet the specific requirements of the local market and its consumer trends. Wrocław, the largest city in western Poland, is recognised as a growing business centre. It stands on the River Oder, with good road and motorway connections to the rest of the country and other parts of the region. The new facility covers approximately 500 square metres and houses 25 of the company's sales, field services, IT and finance employees.

Paweł Warszawski, Sales Director DACH, Central & Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS for Sidel says: "We are always looking to improve our offering to customers. This move to bigger premises will provide many benefits including the opportunity to offer an even better support service. We are looking forward to maintaining our high standards while accelerating our growth in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Europe and Central Asia proved to be one of several regions in which we over-achieved order intake growth in 2016 and the relocation to this new facility provides an excellent foundation to develop our capabilities even further."

In its search for additional growth in the CEE region, Sidel recognises Poland as one of the most dynamic prospects. The packaging market in the country is anticipating a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4.4% for drinks bottled in PET over the four-year period from 2016 to 2020, with glass and can forecast to grow respectively by 2.7% and by 1.0% over the same period . In the food, home and personal care market (FHPC), a CAGR of 1.6% is forecast for PET packaging from 2016 to 2020 . From its transparency, which allows the consumer to see the bottle's contents clearly, to the material's design flexibility and its strength to survive the supply chain and still provide a great consumer's experience, PET simply delivers a great, all-around performance. Making it possible to substantially reduce the amount of material needed to produce strong, efficient and innovative bottles, PET offers producers significant cost and sustainability benefits through its capacity for lightweighting. Light yet robust, flexible and easy to transport, it offers the producer several valuable benefits, from preventing beverage and food waste to high levels of sustainability through its complete material recyclability.

Visitors to Sidel's new premises in Wrocław, Poland, will also be able to learn more about the company's latest available packaging innovations, equipment and services. This includes Sidel Services Online, a web interface which enables fast online ordering of Sidel original spare parts. Originally introduced in Europe and Central Asia - where it continues to increase its uptake – the tool will be rolled out soon to other regions. Additionally, Sidel acknowledges the many different, seemingly contradictory demands that producers face – for example, the need to increase the number of stock keeping units (SKUs) manufactured while keeping production simple, efficient and reliable. This is why the company is committed to help them reap the benefits of Industry 4.0, especially when it comes to improve line operations in terms of speed, efficiency, flexibility and versatility. This is leading to the increased use of smart machines, system and data intelligence, digital connectivity and powerful simulation tools, all within a philosophy of sustainable production.